X p peters



E, L. ROBERTS, OF NEW AYORlLfN. Y.

LettersV Patent No. 79,395,.vclate'd June 30, 1868.

f IMPROVEMENT 1N ,vBNTILAToRs site Stlgihtlr referer tu in ilgase Estima @anni anttitgygmufmmnkjw TO ALL WHOM IT MAYCONGVERN:`

Be it known that-I, EfLfRGBRTS; of-Ne'w" York, in the county ofjNew York,'and State of New York, have invented a. new and* useful Improvement in Ventilating and .flleating Buildings; and I. do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andU-'exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use `the'same,reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification', in whichl y i i i Figure l represents a sectional elevation of a building provided with my improved ventilating and heating- 'pp aratus. 'i

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same, with parts brohen'away.

Similar letters of reference indicate like-parts. Y i

The nature of my invention relates to improvements in Ventilating and heating buildings, whereby it is designed to provide a more'eective and useful means of accomplishng'the same than any now in use.

ilitherto, among the` various devices andV arrangements vresorted to for the purposc,no' general and comprehensive plan has been found o ut, suitable for buildings of `all kinds, Vandfor all seasons'and. conditions of weather, although, perhaps, some plans, possessing more or less merit of a temporary character, and suited to certain conditions, may have been devised. v v

My invention is -calculated to accomplish perfectyentilation in all parts of a room or building, whether large or small, and a uniform heating of the same, at all times and seasons, by eausinga consta`nt, steady, and uniform ilow of fresh air into and through the room', in a manner to be di'used throughout-the whole space, and taking .up and carrying cti' all impure and noxious air or vap`or that may be discharged into the\room by any canso.

To this end my invention consists- First, in providing, in combination -with means for producing they said Adistributed supply and exhaust, means for eifecting a forced exhaust, whereby a copious ilow'of fresh air may be' at all times n'laintained through,` out the room, irrespective of the condition of-the 'atmospherewithout.l I i Second, in providinga means for thoroughly mixing heated air with the supply of' fresh air, at or near 'the top ef the room, or in the space above that` occupied by the occupants, in cold weather, anddiusing the same throughout the-room, and at'the same-'time keeping a. constant {low of fresh air througli'the room.

Third, in the combinations and 'arrangements of apparatus for accomplishing thehabove-mentioned objects, as will be morefully described. v

In the'accomipanying drawings, A represents a side elcvatibn of a building, of which Bmay represent the loor, and C the ceiling. lD represents 'an air-supply tube standing in a vertical position by the side of the building, or in any convenient position relatively thereto, which is closed at the top, and provided with means forv opening communication at the bottoni, to receive the air directly from the external atmosphere, or for receiving it froml another-'vertical tube or hollow shaft, E, which is op'en at the top andclosed at the bottom-to the external atmosphere, but communicating with the tube D, and provided with a, valve for opening or closingl said communication, as desired. i i

At the top of the tube D, communication is' provided with*'distributing-tubes Farranged above the ceiling,

and provided with small openings, a, communicating through the'veeiling withithe room to be ventilated, or, as p may be preferable in some cases, the tube D, at the'inpper end, or atiarpoint near the top of theroom, is con# nected to the distributingtubes F arranged upon the outside f' the wall, or within the same, or it may bo'within I the room near the top in the place of the cornice, which is also provided with small openings, af, into the room. Various' plansmay be adopted for introducing the air upon the principle of my invention', which'mayserve' equally well, provided the essential features be preserved, which, according to the iirstfand second parts of my invention, consist in conveying the air from near the level of the door to the top ofthe room, or near the same, and distributing it throughout the whole surface of the same, as above described.

One, or any other numberl of" such shafts may bc provided, as may be convenient. By this arrangement, a passage for a supply of fresh'air into the rooms near the ceiling may be kept constantly openand at the same time the tendency of the'aiar in the room to escape is checked, being balanced by the column( of cold air in the shaft communicating at its lower opening with the atmosphere. The undue pressure of the air into the shaft from strong winds may be regulated byvan automatic valve.

When the building to be ventilated is composed of several stories, the supply may be carried te each story by separate supply-tubes, or by separate lues in the same tube, and t'he tubes may be provided wv .n valves to Y direct the flow td each story, as desired. f

llo provide for diffusing the fresh air, which is so received throughthe top ofthe room, and mixing it with that which has bccomevitini'ed and4 increasedin temperature by the heat given olf from the occupants of the room, or, which may be imparted to it from other causes, and for conveying' the whole airy out of the room to keep up a constant'ow, giving place for a like inward ow of fresh air, I have provided a means of exhaustingthe same throughthe door, as shown in iig. 2. Y,

(3i-represents a spaceunder the floor of the room, through which communication is opened with the room, and which also has communication with a high vertical shaft, H, through which a draught will naturally How, drawing the air from the room, causing a partial vacuum therein, which will readily be filled by the inflow of air from the tube D, as before described.

To further facilitate the dissemination and equalization of the iow of fresh air, and for more thoroughly removing the vitiated air from the room, I have arranged a system for distributing the discharge or exhaust- Apassages throughout the ioor of the room. 'I have found, by long-continued and extensive practice, that no room can be well ventilatcdwithout a constant action being maintained in the air throughout the whole space of the room, and that it is also highly important4 that the said action be uniformly alike in al1 parts. In the variousei'orts heretofore made, I have found serious defects existing in this respect; as, for instance, from want Vof 'means 'forcausing a distributed and thorough flow, as. above described, especially in large buildings, and those having high ceilings and galleries, it. isgenerally found that, while in some limited portions of the room contiguous to a window that may be opened, .or to a. register over a window, there may be sonic circulation ofy currents of air, the greater mass of air will be lfoundto be lying 'ina quiet state invarious strat-a, with the coldest portion at the bottom, and thewarmer at the top, while that portion whichisvitiatcd, and deprived of its oxygen by being repeatedly inhaled and discharged 'from the human lungs, is found in an intermediate stratum between those above mentioned, and about the position of the heads of'the occupants.

To move this mass of air thoroughly, and with equal results with reference to all the occupants oi'v al1 partsv o-f the room, I have found that it must be done either in an upward or downward direction, as, by dn attempt to move-it from one side to another Aof a room, those persons upon the receiving'sidew'ould bel unduly exposed to ,the fresh air, when it might be too cold, or'. they might be benefited by it more than those on the opposite side, as in passing from one side to another it would become more or less vitiated;

The diiiicultyalso of moving the uir'in a horizontal planecould not'be easily overcome, as in a large building, under such an arrangement, the upper portion of the room would be the warmest, and the air, after entering Vat the right place, would risc and pass above the central portion of an audience, althoughit might be caused to descendagain to the proper pla-ce for passing out, thus leaving a larger portion in a body ,of-air that would not' be moved. Y f I Another difdcllt-y of such a. plan would be in furnishing a sudicient supply of fresh air within the limitedl horizontal plane from which it could be breathed by an audience. l And in respectl to moving .the air in an upward direction, I have encountered serious difficulties in devising a plan suitable for all seasons, for while that it may do well for seasons when it is not necessary to heat-the' air,; in 'such seasons ,whenheating' is required, the heated air would escape too rapidly, and the vexpense would be'l enormously increased. p

I have, thcilefore, provideihin'conjunction with the before-mentioned arrangementfor distributing the supply of fresh nir, a plan for equally distributing the 'exhaust in a downward direction, through the floor.V When it is not convenient to provide a large space under the door, as at G, inthe example herein shown, which may be made use 0.", I provide a series of lateral tubes or passages, communicating with rows of passages, b,

through the floor, :1nd with a main duct or channel lleading tothe exhaust-tube H, whereby the whole volume of air in a room is constantly kept in motion, and each individual may be said to be provided with a descending column'of fresh air, having a supercial areaequal to that whichI he occupies in a closely-packed room; or if theroombc thinly occupied, he will be enveloped in a column correspondingly larger, and provided with an equal amount of exhaustf. l

In like manner, when the building is composed of more than one story,'the system of exhaust-passages, which I have described tu be arranged under the floor, may be arranged' under the Hoor of every story, and communication from each story be made with the exhaust-shaft, or it maybe continued downward through the several stories to the exhaust-shaft at the bottom, if preferred.

"Ihe means which I have thus far described, I have found to be generally eiicient for ordinary purposes' and timos when the atmosphere is in an active condition; but for large buildings, and for times whenthe air is heavy and dull, and in cold weather, when it is desirable to heat the rooms as well as to ventilate them, I have foundit necessary to provide a means for accelerating the draught of the exhausting-apparatus, and for that purpose 'I have provided, in combination with theabove-described means for producing a distributed exhaust, within the due or shaft H, at any convenient position therein, a heater, I, for the purpose, when' necessary, of 'generating heat for rarefying the air within the shaft, whereby the draught may be accelerated to any desired extent, or regulatedaccording tothe circumstances of the case.v

In the-coldo'rseasons'of the year, -it is necessary to raise the temperature of the air received from without, as above described, by means of my improved ventilatng-apparatus, and for this purpose my improvement possesses peculiar and important advantages. i

I provide-,a heater, which may be of the ordinary construction, arranged below the floor et' the room, and

the heated air conveyed therefrom and discharged into the room in tubes, or the room may be heatedvby-jstovcs within the saine.` Now, as is well known, thev heated air, hoivever discharged into thevroom,'will, while warm, rise immediately upward. It therefore, according to my improvement, encounters, near the top'of the room, the incoming diffused currents of cold air, moving in an opposite direction, and mixes with the, same, and as by vreason of the cold-air-supply tube D being arranged to convey the supply from near a level with the door of the room, the-columrig'of cold air therein being heayier than the warmer air within'the room, the said heated air cannot escape through the coldair. passages, but is diinse'd and thoroughly mixed withA the saine, and carried gradually, constantly,` and imperceptibly downward to the exhaust-passages through the door, in a columnper# vading the whole area ofthe room, the velocity of which may be governed entirely by a damper or valve in the exhaust-shaft, and the temperature of which has, by the thorough mixingofA the heated air with the cold air,'

'been broughtto thefrequireddegreeby the time it reaches the. occupants'of the room.

.An-Y limportant feature of my improved Ventilating and heating-apparatus is byY reason of thev facilityit affords forgoverning the `velocity of the ow of air without producing undue activity in any part of the room. The capacity of the' supplyand exhaust-passages maybe lmade ample to aiord a iiow `equal to the utmost demands of any room, however it may be packed, as in churches, theatres, and other public assemblages. The exhaust-passages may be provided with registers, and, if desired, the ow may be stopped in any portion of the room, and theexhaust' confined to any desired portion; l' A I am aware that it iii-'common to produce currents ofair for ventilation, both for supply-and exhaust, .by me'hanical meaus,'and also by changing the temperature of the air, and I therefore do not claim such means broadly; but, having thus described lily-invention, i

`I claim as-newj, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1.l 'In combination with means for'electing a distributed exhaust, as above described, means for effecting a forced exhaust, substantially as adjor the purpose described.

2. Mixing heated air, for heating rooms, with the intlowing distributed supply of fresh-air, atfor near the .top of the room,`by meaissubstantially as and for thepurpose described.

3. The combination, with the supply-passagesF or Ff, at or near vthe top of the room, of the vertical tube D, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The"combination, with the tube D, of the tubeE, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. 'The combination, with the supply-pussages-through theceiling, or nearthe same, and the vertical supplytube D, of the exhaust-passages through the floor, sbstantiallyas and'f'or the purpose described. n

6. The combination, with a door arranged as described, for eiecting a distributed exhaust, of the iueH, provided with a heater, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

The ahovespeciiication of my invention signed by me, this thirteenth day of April, 1'868,

V IE. L.i ROBERTS.

.-flllitnesses: v Anas. F. Renners, `J. M. CovrNGreN.' r 

